Sport is made for betting

Once the Cup's been and gone, you'd better start looking for the next race to top up those winnings (or dig yourself out of a hole). Straight after the Cup is the Caulfield Sprint featuring the return of star speedster Lankan Rupee and the next step for potential star Hellbent. Tasked with splitting them is this week's debut previewer, local form analyst Callum Gogerly, @_gogs10 . ----------------- Dilmah For Lovers Of Tea Caulfield Sprint Group 2 Handicap, 1000m, AU$200k Caulfield R9 1710 AEST, 0710 BST Prices quoted from Sportsbet at time of writing Speed : 1000m so don’t expect any loafing here. Faatinah (3) will work across to try and be prominent you would think while Wild Rain (4) will look to use the barrier, whether that is leading/outside leader or one back the running line is up to Stephen Baster. Lankan Rupee (1) usually pings the lids and can be prominent, while favourite Hellbent (5) you would expect to be midfield or worse. 1- Lankan Rupee ($11)- ...

Springtime hits fever pitch in Melbourne this weekend with Cup Day at Caulfield. While it's the eponymous Cup taking all the attention, the support card holds some tantalising betting prospects. Making his debut on the blog at the height of the Melbourne spring, it's welcome aboard to Australian racing form student Callum Gogerly, @_gogs10 . -------------------------- Priceline Pharmacy Coongy Cup Group 3 Handicap, 2000m, AU$150k Caulfield R6 1510 AEST, 0510 BST Prices quoted from Sportsbet at time of writing Speed: Whenever The Cleaner (2) is racing, you know that you are assured of a solid tempo. Tom Melbourne (6) looks like being the one to sit off him, while the favourite It’s Somewhat (1) looks to get a nice run on paper, one or two back on the fence. Expect every horse to get their chance. 1- It’s Somewhat ($2.60)- Import for the O’Shea yard who is into his fourth prep since being brought to Australia. Often you find these horses improve dramatically once the...

The standout race on Future Champions Day at Newmarket is undoubtedly the Dubai Dewhurst Stakes. Worth a cool half-mill, we have a stack of picket fences in the formlines and most of the top stables represented. And after the incredible Galileo-sired, O'Brien-trained 1-2-3 at Chantilly last weekend in the Arc, is it really that surprising that the odds-on favourite for the race is yet another by the 18yo super-sire? It's as if he knows his son Frankel is about to take over, but he's over there saying "Wait your turn sonny...". Returning to the blog to preview this cracking juvenile contest is aspiring journalist Conor Stroud, @conorstroud95 . Prices shown are general market prices at time of posting. ----------------------- Dubai Dewhurst Stakes A breeders race, for 2yo colts and fillies only £500,000, 7f, Group 1 Newmarket, 1530 Saturday BST, 0130 Sunday AEST Blue Point – 6/1 Charlie Appleby’s charge in this race comes in the form of Gimcrack winner...

It's a classy card packed full of Group 1 races at Chantilly today, and racing commences with a Group 1 for 2yo fillies over the mile, a distance most of them will have yet to experience. Can the British and Irish raiders start the ball rolling or will the mighty Frankel filly claim first blood for the hosts? With the preview, it's welcome back to Australian racecalling prodigy Luke Humphreys, @worldracingluke . ------------------------ Prix Marcel Boussac 2YOF 1600m Turf Group 1,€300,000 Chantilly, 1410 local, 1310 BST 1 Dabyah (7/2): Won with plenty in the tank on debut at Newmarket on July Cup day and in her only subsequent run she bolted in by nine lengths at Newbury very impressively. Hardest task to date but looks a genuine superstar in the making. By gun Australian sire Sepoy. 2 First Of Spring (10/1): Two starts for two wins, both over the 6f at Deauville. Has looked green in both of those but has done them well, place. 3 Normandel (14/1): Won on debut a...

The Arc - generally regarded as the greatest horse race in Europe takes a different route this year with the glorious Chantilly racecourse hosting festivities while Longchamp upgrades spectator facilities. A distinct disadvantage for those drawn wide and that mini-straight separated from the finishing section by a dogleg to the right are no longer a concern, but the switchback over 2400m as horses turn to both the left and right delivers an intriguing test. It's my turn to step forward and provide a preview, with depth, insight and lot of replay links. Please enjoy! -------------------------------- Qatar Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe Group 1, 2400m €5m, WFA, 3yo+ no geldings. Chantilly New Bay - 4yo entire who started 5/1 last year and ran third. Has only won a weak Group 3 this campaign , bookended by a 15L flogging by A Shin Hikari here in May (3.25L behind Silverwave) and a 5.25L fourth in the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown (behind Almanzor and Found) where...

Always handy to have a second opinion when it comes to investing on the highest-profile match of the season. Chris Ryan, @imdabomb82 , returns for his annual contribution to the blog, a deeper analysis of the NRL Grand Final. --------------------- NRL Telstra Premiership Grand Final Melbourne v Cronulla ANZ Stadium Sunday, October 2, 1915 AEST, 1015 BST 26 regular season rounds dusted. Three finals series weeks in the bin. 80 minutes left to decide the NRL premiership. Whilst Canberra finished the season like a train, we are left with what were the two best teams for the most part of the NRL season. We have the perennially contending, wrestling, salary cap cheating, Mexicans, the Melbourne Storm, up against the butt of the jokes, non-winning, fairy-tale side in the Sharks. Lots of neutrals play a head versus heart battle in who to go for, the Cinderella story in Cronulla, or do you cheer against them so the Harold Holt jokes can live on. And really that’s how most people fr...

Grand Final weekend - when we mix and match footy finals with feature racedays. Sydney has the racing Saturday and league final on Sunday, while Melbourne focuses on the MCG today and Flemington tomorrow. The racing focus centres on Randwick and the metric mile for the time-honoured Epsom Handicap. A handy field assembled, not a big one, but a very competitive one with 5/1 the field available if you search hard enough. Stepping in to the preview this captivating race is Calum Law from the @EIBloodstock team. ----------------------------- TAB Epsom Handicap Group 1, AU$1 million Randwick, 1600m 1600 AEST, 0700 BST Palentino - Two-time Group One winner in Melbourne over a mile, taking the Australian Guineas in March and comfortably beating stablemate Black Heart Bart in the Makybe Diva last time out at Caulfield. Those performances mark him down as a stallion of the highest order, deserving of top weight in this field. Trained by a master, although not (yet) so much when vis...

Something a little bit special in this year's AFL Grand Final - it's the first appearance in the big she-bang for the Western Bulldogs (nee Footscray) since 1961, and only their third playoff for the flag. Their premiership drought has lasted since 1954 and one would expect 90% of the neutral supporters to have a soft spot for the Bulldogs. The Swans suffered a 72-year dearth of premierships until 2005, but now most clubs are jealous of them - four Grand Finals (two flags) in the past 11 seasons, very difficult to achieve with a rigid salary cap and draft system. With the honours to preview the Grand Final of the greatest game of all, it's over to the experts at AFLRatings - @aflratings . -------------------- 2016 AFL Grand Final Preview by @aflratings / aflratings.com.au Sydney v Western Bulldogs Saturday 1st October, 1430 AEST, 0530 BST MCG, Melbourne Sydney have taken the long road to get to the 2016 Grand Final, embarrassed in their first final by GWS, the ...

All the huffing and puffing, and crunching and crashing comes down to this - it's the big finale for rugby league south of the equator, the NRL Telstra Premiership Grand Final. First with his preview is this years's regular finals correspondent, Shaun Beirne, @shaunbeirne . And as a special bonus, I hope to have another preview focusing on the exotic markets available later in the week. -------------------------- NRL Telstra Premiership Grand Final Melbourne v Cronulla ANZ Stadium Sunday, October 2, 1915 AEST, 1015 BST Grand Finals since 2000 Points of interest : • The average margin is 13.75 against a median of 9 so generally they are close matches but once a team gets on a roll they can blow out as the 13+ results at 37.5% show. • The average total match points are 34.9 against a median of 37 so when matches go low they can go very low with 5 of the last 16 having less than 30 points. Melbourne will line up with the same 17 that started last week. Cronulla g...